A young mother has issued a sun-safe warning for Australians as the weather heats up after discovering a “pimple” was actually cancer.
Rachel Olivia, 32, suddenly developed a pimple on her forehead near her hairline. It felt like it had appeared overnight. Two years later, the mother is left with a large brown scab in its place.
The initial small red mark was dismissed by a doctor as a “pimple she had squeezed too hard”. It continued to flow and never recovered. So she had frozen it.
“I left it for a year. Then it never got better so I listened to my gut and pushed for it to be re-evaluated by specialists who then did a biopsy and confirmed it was cancer,” she told news.com.au.
It had been surprising news for Rachel.
“I’ve never been one to tan or sit in the sun. I’m known among my friends and family for being sun smart,” she said.
“Unfortunately, I had a few bad burns as a teenager and that’s all it takes.”
Thankfully, it wasn’t melanoma. Instead, the Victorian woman was diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma. It is a type of skin cancer that often develops on the face. It usually appears as a white, waxy lump. It may also look like a brown, scaly patch.
“I was relieved that it wasn’t melanoma, but also shocked that I still had cancer. He told me I was young to get something like that. He also explained that Australia has the highest rate of skin cancer,” she said.
Rachel was given Aldara, which is a topical chemotherapy treatment for her type of cancer. However, at six months, she may still need to physically remove it.
Although the treatment was non-invasive, it was not easy.
“I won’t lie, it has had its challenges. “I have a baby, so I had to be extremely careful not to get the cream on at night when I had to wear it,” she said.
“Now that it’s snapped, it’s so hard to take care of it with a baby and not hit it.”
She said that from an aesthetic point of view it was also quite confronting to see something that was such a small place turn into something so big.”
Rachel has shared her journey online. She has been documenting her daily life with what’s left of treatment – including going to a wedding.
However, it has had great support. Her main messages while sharing her journey have been advocating sun safety.
“I booked my first skin check because of your content,” said one social media user.
Another added: “I had a blemish in the same spot on my forehead as you, it looked a lot like yours before you got it checked. I’ve been putting off getting checked, your video made me make that appointment. It’s superficial SCC.
“I’m doing photodynamic therapy (soon). Thanks for sharing your journey. If I had left it for my next annual checkup, next year it could have been a much worse prognosis.”
“I love that you’re sharing this whole process — you’re bringing it to the fore. Sending best wishes,” added another.
One said: “I’ve booked a skin check because of your story; it’s so important that we realize how trivial skin cancer can seem.”
It has been a week since Rachel stopped the Aldara treatment. She said the scabies were still “pretty disgusting”.
However, he is expected to recover in the coming weeks. Many who had gone through the treatment assured Rachel that she would likely be left with nothing more than a chicken pox scar.
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Image Source : nypost.com